Page 17 of The Lake House (Southern Charm #2)
Chapter Seventeen
Rita could picture them both. Standing there on the dock, poles in hand.
Uncle Bill smoked and Dad would wave the smoke away with a manufactured cough, glaring at his brother if it drifted too close.
Then Bill would remove the cigarette from his mouth and beam at Dad until Dad shook his head and went back to fishing.
They were close. Two brothers, only a couple of years apart.
They looked nothing alike, but they shared the same laugh.
She could remember it all like it was yesterday.
It was such a shame what’d happened between them.
That something could’ve driven them so far apart until they died still mired in the pain and conflict. It tore at her heartstrings.
She pulled the truck into the café parking lot and climbed out, half expecting her bones to creak.
Gradually she was getting back into driving herself around and living her life again after weeks of treatments.
Soon, she’d be back in that chair again.
But until then, she intended to do as much as she could to keep the business going.
Inside, she found Cathy seated in the dining area, looking over receipts. There was always a lull at this time of the morning, and the entire place was empty. It wouldn’t be long before the lunch crowd began to filter in, though. Rita sat beside Cathy with a sigh.
“How are you, Cathy?”
Cathy’s brow was furrowed in concentration. “Fine. You?”
“I’m holding it together most days. Which is an achievement in itself.”
“You can say that again.” Cathy gave her a wan smile. “I’m looking for a lost receipt. I want to make sure we have everything in order for the books. Any ideas?”
“Could’ve fallen to the floor and then got kicked under the desk. It happens sometimes.”
“I’ll take a look there. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. I found a few of my parents’ things locked away in a storage closet at the lake house.”
“Really? Wow. That’s been there a while, then.”
“I knew the closet was full of their stuff, but I’ve been avoiding it for years. I thought since I was having some time off, it would be good to go through it and get rid of anything I don’t want to keep. And I stumbled across this box of letters.”
“Letters? From who?”
“Different people who wrote to Mom and Dad over the years. And there’s mention of your dad in there—the issues he had with mine. I’m hoping one of the letters will tell me details because I still don’t understand why they’d give up on each other the way they did.”
Cathy nodded slowly, her face somber. “I know that it was some kind of betrayal. That’s what Dad used to talk about.
He said he came up with the idea for the café and even named it.
He was the one who signed the original lease.
And he asked Uncle Ray to join him, since Ray was flailing a bit with a young family and no career prospects.
He was so happy when Uncle Ray joined him and said it gave him the confidence to make it happen.
Ray had such great ideas about the menu and how to run things.
I still remember when he came up with the recipe for their famous gumbo. ”
“We use that recipe every day,” Rita agreed.
“It’s a great recipe. But we were all devastated when Dad walked away from the business he started. And from his brother. They were such great friends.”
“You don’t have any idea why? What happened? One of the letters I read seemed to suggest it had something to do with love. That maybe they fought over a woman years earlier. But why didn’t the rift happen then? Why wait so long to get angry? Something must’ve triggered it.”
Cathy shrugged. “That’s all news to me. I guess love makes sense. Otherwise, why would they be so secretive about the whole thing?”
“And why would the conflict last for so long? Love is definitely the most logical explanation.”
“I wonder who she was.”
“We may never know. But I’ve brought some of the letters with me to the office. I read them in between administrative tasks. I’m so curious about what happened. And I thought you should know about it, since it impacts you.”
“Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it. And keep me updated if you discover anything new.”
“I will.”
Cathy hesitated. “I’ve held that against you for a long time, you know.”
“What?” Rita frowned.
“That it was my father who came up with the idea and named the business. I’ve always felt as though this place was my heritage and that you stole it from me.”
Rita was about to argue when Cathy waved her off.
“Don’t worry—I don’t feel that way anymore.
What happened isn’t your fault. And you’ve done such a great job of managing the café.
I was insecure and angry. Upset about the conflict between our families and the fact that Dad’s legacy was forgotten the way it was.
He ended his life working as a plumber and was never as happy again.
He loved this café. It was everything to him. His dream come to life.”
“Well, I guess I can understand that.” Rita pursed her lips. “I’m sorry it happened that way. It seems like such a pointless battle. And I’m angry with both of them for not dealing with it before they passed. They were both so unbelievably stubborn.”
Cathy chuckled. “Ain’t that the truth.”